1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a punched or stamped knitting tool for textile machines, particularly knitting machines of the type which include a shank member and a removable/replaceable working member.
More particularly the present invention relates to a knitting tool of the above type wherein the shank member has at least one butt and is provided at one end with a recess having an open edge at the frontal end surface, with this recess being laterally bounded by two web portions which are provided with an irregular profile on a portion of the sides which face the recess; wherein the working member is equipped with a needle head or needle hook at one end and a shank-like connecting member portion at the other end, with the connecting member portion, which is also provided with an irregular profile on a portion of the sides which face the recess, being adapted to be fitted in the shank member so that it is guided between the web portions in a form-locking manner along a guide region of the recess adjacent the frontal end surface of the shank member; and wherein the connecting member portion is anchored in the shank member in a subsequent anchorage region of the recess which includes the irregular profiles of the connecting member portion and of the web portions.
The term "knitting tool" as used in this application is intended to include latch needles, spring beard needles, composite needles, needles without latches, for example plush hooks for the production of plush goods, as well as sinkers.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 2,431,635 discloses a latch needle for knitting machines which includes the features listed above. In this latch needle, the needle butt and the needle hook are located on separate shank-like members, namely the actual shank member and a needle or general working member. The shank member and the working member are connected to one another so that one end region of the working member, which is formed with a connecting member portion, is pressed into an open-edge recess facing the frontal face in the shank member and is rigidly anchored therein by the meshing of part of the profiles of the connecting member portion and the shank member. The reason for this two-part configuration of the latch needle is that it provides a simple opportunity to exchange a damaged working member or shank member for a new one without having to discard the entire needle. For this reason, the connection between the working member and the shank member is made releasable by allowing the connecting member portion to be simply pressed laterally out of the recess. These releasable two part needles suffer from a number of disadvantages and problems.
Initially, it must be pointed out that at the present time the taking-apart and putting-together of individual needle members is no longer practicable because of the labor costs incurred by the user of a knitting machine. Moreover, there is also the danger in modern high-speed knitting machines that the rigid connection between the shank member and the working member would allow vibrations originating from the control strokes exerted by lock members on the base of the shank member to be transferred to the needle hook without damping, and would therefore cause hook breakage. Finally, the profiles of the connecting member portion and the web portions which delimit the recess must be configured with very close tolerances so that they mesh reliably to prevent the occurrence of even the slightest amount of play between the parts. Due to the control strokes, any such play would quickly lead to the profiles coming apart and thus to an unreliable connection between the working member and the shank member.
German Pat. No. 2,610,078 discloses a latch needle for knitting machines where the needle butt and the needle head are configured on separate needle shank members which are connected to one another by way of intermediate damping members. According to the disclosed arrangement, the needle shank members are positioned against one another along opposing faces extending in the displacement direction of the latch needle and are connected to one another by meshing dovetail-like connecting elements. Elastic intermediate members are located between the opposing faces of these connecting elements where their faces do not extend in the longitudinal direction of the needle. These elastic intermediate members are made of a synthetic rubber, and are firmly anchored either by a simple form-locking connection between the coupled needle shank members or merely at the frontal face of one of the two needle shank members. Due to the small shank thickness and height of the shank members, and thus the small cross-sectional area resulting from these dimensions (for example, the average needle has a cross-sectional area of 0.6 mm.sup.2), the operationally reliable mounting of the rubber intermediate members between the coupled-together shank members poses problems. This is particularly true in the case of the connection for fine needles. Additionally, there exists the danger that the highly elastic rubber intermediate members will become plastically deformed, i.e. compressed, for example. The plastic deformation occurs due to movement of the needles during the knitting process and the deformation may occur to such an extent that the operating length of the entire needle is subjected to change. This change in the operating length of the needle results in a knit product which has an irregularly knit appearance.
In practice, a plurality of different variations of knitting machine needles and also sinkers and other knitting tools are currently in use. The variation utilized depends on the respective intended use and the respective type of machine. This multitude of variations requires great expenditures for the manufacturer, not the least of which are the various stocks that have to be maintained.